Help preserve the Westray memorial

KJIPUKTUK (Halifax) – The Westray memorial needs our help! Recently the grounds were damaged by vandals driving over the lawn, apparently not for the first time, and likely not the last if we don’t do something.

Now people are raising funds to build a fence around the park.

“We work hard to keep our park beautiful and in good repair. The memory of our lost brothers and our loved ones deserves no less. In order to preserve this memorial space, a fence will need to be built around it. The memorial park covers a significant space, which means that the cost of the fence also comes at a significant price,” states the GoFundMe page for the fundraising initiative.

I remember listening to the radio when the news of the disaster broke and rescue operations got underway. It was heartbreaking.

Equally distressing was the news about how the Westray explosion could have been prevented. The judge who led the inquiry called the entire affair”a story of incompetence, of mismanagement, of bureaucratic bungling, of deceit, of ruthlessness, of cover-up, of apathy, of expediency, and of cynical indifference.”

This is something many a politician, bureaucrat and boss would like us to forget. The monument is there to remind us. And to remember the 26 underground miners who perished.

One Comment

I think it’s great that a local community group looks after the park and has taken this initiative. If it hasn’t already been done, a request for funds to build the fence should also be made to the province which, after all, was a complicit partner with the company in killing those miners.